Episode 68 Jared Hager
Happie Heads
Skateboarding accident
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Episode 67 – Steve (Stevo) Bohlemann
Happie Heads
In the summer of 2014, in his last year of college Steve was struck by a cyclist from behind while jogging across a bridge in Charleston, South Carolina. His injuries included: a subdural hematoma, a fractured skull, fractured vertebrae, and of course, a TBI. Upon arriving at the hospital, he was placed in a medically induced coma for several days. He lost his memory for the first few weeks, but slowly began to remember things. Initially, he struggled physically and mentally with the new challenges in his life but has continued to grow through it all. A year ago, Steve began to experience...
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Episode 66 - Jean Marie Staranna
Happie Heads
At the age of 16 in Old Forge, Pennsylvania Jean was in a car accident. She seemed to be recovering well until she began to have generalized seizures a year after her accident. Fortunately, she was able to see a neurologist and try out several anti-seizure medications until her seizures remitted. She was generally symptom free until this February of 2022 (48 years later) she experienced a second TBI when an overhead tent frame collapsed on her head. This time, the symptoms set in quickly and forcefully and continued until very recently, when she has experienced immense improvement in her...
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Episode 65 – Leia Tyrrell 2.0
Happie Heads
In this episode we have the return of one of our first guests, Leia Tyrrell. Since our first conversation at the end of 2016, Leia has had several more TBI. We discuss the physical and psychological ramifications of these TBI, and many of the broader ideas that many TBI survivors think about on a daily basis. I hope you all enjoy!
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Episode 64 – Lydia Ewing-Green
Happie Heads
One day, while Lydia was playing catch with her nephew she turned around to pick something up, an incoming throw from her nephew struck her in the back of her left ear. Immediately she was completely disoriented, and went into a state of shock. She never would have imagined she just suffered a TBI that would have lasting impacts on her day-to-day life. We discuss her journey navigating her life after a TBI including parenting, working, and carrying on with the hobbies she enjoys. We also talk about how she advocated for herself, and the cyclical nature of recovering from a TBI....
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Episode 63 - Jack Fletcher
Happie Heads
In the summer of 2014, Jack was fresh out of high school and getting started on a fast track to become a paramedic firefighter. He was six weeks into the program when he headed toward home for a surprise visit. He was about halfway when he was struck head on by a drunk driver on Mt hood. He was in a five day coma, suffered a shattered face, radius, two amputated fingers on his right hand, lost vision in one eye, and his sense of smell. He was great to chat with. I hope you enjoy! Check a beautiful video detailing the story of his accident here:
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Episode 62 – Lori Edstrom
Happie Heads
In January of 2014 Lori had her tonsils removed, a routine surgery for most folks. While recovering at home, she had a severe reaction to the antibiotics and pain medications she was on and was found in her home by her boyfriend unresponsive. She was severely hypoxic and dehydrated, requiring interosseous hydration. At the trauma center in Duluth, MN, she was in a coma for 3 days and the ICU for 10. Miraculously, upon leaving she proved to be able to cook for herself so that hospital let her go home alone. She suffered from many symptoms afterward including an abnormally low desire to be...
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Episode 61 – Robyn Block
Happie Heads
Robyn is from a small town in southern Minnesota. One day, on a skiing trip way up north in the state she crashed full speed into a tree, and her head struck a rock when she made contact with the ground. She was sent to a local hospital and eventually life-flighted to Duluth where she received lifesaving surgery (including a craniectomy) and was in a coma for several days. Her surgeon told her family she wouldn’t live. Less than two months later, she was leaving inpatient rehab and heading home. But recovery was not smooth and many challenges arose. We talk about her mindset throughout...
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Episode 60 – Ilona Popper
Happie Heads
Ilona lives in the wild and open state of Montana and is passionate about environmentalism, literature, and sharing her passions with others. In 2012, she experienced her first TBI at the age of 55. In 2017, she walked into the overhang of a camper and briefly loss consciousness. This led to many symptoms including an altered visual perception of space. Because of this, she continued to hit her head about once per month for the next several years. Due to these repeated TBIs, her symptoms began to interfere with nearly every aspect of her life. Today, she is at a very good place with a routine...
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Episode 59 - Deb Adesegun
Happie Heads
Deb is a medical student from Alberta, Canada. She is currently in her rotational years which means she is working directly with patients nearly every day. About a year ago Deb was driving home from a rotation and was hit head on by another driver. She suffered from a TBI involving diffuse axonal injury, a hemorrhage, and many other things. She also suffered from several (almost countless) broken bones. We talk about her lengthy recovery, knowing how and when to push forward when we are healing, and what it means to know God’s will when facing tough ideas like suffering. Enjoy! ...
info_outlineIn March of 2016, Dami drove her car into the trailer of a semi truck in Albany, OR at 78mph. You read that right, 78mph. The craziest part is she only broke two bones and one of them was her left ring finger. She was comatose for 2 weeks, and went through months of rehab. Her story is great and addresses the social, physical, and mental ramifications of such an accident.
Her story starts at 8:24